Home
by EuphoniumGurl0
Summary: Everyone is back home for Christmas, and some things never change. Red's still riding Eric, and Fez is still Fez. Of course, some things do change, and some people, like Eric and Hyde, definitely do. Eric/Hyde slash.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is my first That 70s Show fanfiction after writing Harry Potter, House, and Gilmore Girls for a long time. I realized how much I loved the show after watching it again. So, tada! Enjoy.

It may become rated M later, depending on how it goes. I've gotten a few chapters written out. I'm choosing to make it more in the format of an episode, making short scenes/chapters. Some are longer than others (chapter five, for example, is much longer than any of the previous ones).

It starts out as comedic and general, but trust me, it turns slashy very quickly. Which makes this my first slash. But don't be scared! Heh. Give it a try.

Chapter 1

Eric fidgeted under the stare of his father, meeting his eyes before dropping them down to the floor again. Red was coming down on him hard, no matter the fact that the boy was no longer a boy, but a twenty-five year old man.

"Now, I don't care if your mother thinks you should laze around the house all day. You need to take some responsibility and sweep the garage. You're not a guest here. Neither one of you is," said Red, now addressing both men in front of him.

It was actually the first time Eric had been home in almost two years. He missed last Christmas because he was spending it with Jackie, Fez, Hyde, and Kelso in California where the first two now resided. The rotation called for the gang, this time Donna included, to come back home. Red picked up right where he left off.

Forman's only comfort was the fact that his best friend was standing next to him, As always, Hyde was silent and calm behind the same sunglasses he'd been wearing for ten years now. They were different than the ones he wore when they were in high school (which were different from the ones he wore before that), but that didn't matter. The purpose was the same. Not a trace of expression or emotion was found on Hyde's face.

Of course, Eric knew better. He knew his best friend was borderline starting to get pissed off, the clock in the kitchen ticking loudly when Red stopped to take a breath, reminding them that they'd been standing there listening to the lecture for almost fifteen minutes now. Fifteen minutes of being torn down. There was no way in hell that either one of them was going to stand up to Red and tell him how overly cruel he was being at that moment: Eric out of the sheer fear he still had (and always would have) of his father; Hyde out of respect.

But Eric knew. Oh yes, yes, yes. Hyde's jaw was twitching, Eric noticed out of the corner of his eye. The slight movement unnoticeable to anyone else showed that Hyde was clenching his jaw more than usual, and this meant that he was not in his usually Zen place.

Steven Hyde. Pissed off.

"Steven, stop skirting your responsibilities," Red said, addressing the curly-haired man, pointing to the broken shelf behind him before turning back to face his son. "And you," he spat with his usual contempt, "stop being a dumbass."

That usual remark signaled that the verbal assault was over. "Yes, Sir," Eric answered dutifully, immediately heading outside to sweep the garage.

The door wasn't even closed before Hyde followed him, his walk less casual and more hasty than usual. Another way to tell he was peeved.

"Man, Red's an asshole. Did he even tell you to sweep the gar-"

"Nope," answered Eric swiftly, taking a broom from the corner and starting to sweep.

"He's not a dictator, man. This isn't a commie country where we all have to just shut our mouths and work for nothing. We're supposed to walk through a cesspool of consumerism every day and survive it, but then we come home, and it's the polar opposite? This isn't some, like, radical camp we're coming to, and I'm not doing shit," Hyde said, the movement in his body causing his black AC/DC shirt to stick to his body.

Eric listened to his friend and nodded along rapidly, just like he always did. He stopped sweeping. "Wait a second. Did you just call this home?"

"No, I didn't," Hyde denied, his jaw unclenching for the first time in twenty minutes, his hands dropping to his sides.

"Yes, my friend, you most certainly did," Eric confirmed, a sly smile coming to his face as he continued sweeping, his beady eyes meeting Hyde's before focusing on the dust on the floor.

"No, I didn't," Hyde repeated in the same flat tone of voice as before.

"Oh yes. Yes, you did," Eric countered again, licking his dry lips before the smile came back onto his face where it stayed planted.

"Whatever, man," Hyde said, walking back toward the kitchen door.

"Where are you going?" Eric asked as he started on the driveway.

Hyde stopped for a moment, and turned to look at Eric over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go fix the shelf," he said shortly, walking through the door.

Oh yes, yes. This was definitely home.

A/N: Also not beta read or even reread by me. I just don't have the patience for it. I hope you liked it so far.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: No reviews on first chapter. That can be either because many people don't read this fandom anymore (since the series stopped airing so long ago), lazy reviewers are reading this, people are scared by Eric/Hyde, or I'm just not writing in character.

Meh. Either way. Here's the next chapter. I'm digging this story. I wrote 10 000 words last night in one sitting because I couldn't stop!

Chapter 2

"I haven't smoked in, like, six months," said Eric as he sat in the circle with his friends, three days before Christmas.

"I'm always smoking. Smoking hot!" exclaimed Kelso, laughing as he pointed to himself with both thumbs.

"Oh no! Is Kelso on fire?" Fez asked, concerned.

Donna ignored them both. "That's because we're growing up."

"That's what the man wants you to think. He wants to label us as mature once we hit a certain age," Hyde started as he pushed his finger into the arm of his chair for emphasis. "Mature just means the happiness gets sucked out of you. Well, this isn't a POW camp, man, and I can smoke when I want to smoke."

"Hyde, man, the last time you smoked was with me," reminded Eric, the room spinning.

"Smoking hot!" Kelso exclaimed again, giggling like a girl.

"Kelso, come with me outside. I'm sure the snow can put out the fire," Fez added.

This time, Donna acknowledged Kelso and Fez. "He isn't really on fire, Fez."

"That's not the point! The point was that I wanted to smoke then, and I did. I just haven't wanted to smoke again until now," Hyde defended.

"Admit it. Donna's got a point. We're getting older."

"I am too smoking!" exclaimed Kelso.

"Oh no. I am so confused," replied Fez, putting his head in his hands.

"No. He means it in that self-assured, cocky sort of way. He's calling himself hot," Donna further explained.

Hyde looked at his best friend and waved the joint in his hand. "I will not label myself. That's just another way the government is trying to force the caste system on us. They're not ready for the revolution."

"What revolution? We barely survived the 70s!" Eric exclaimed as Hyde passed the drugs to him.

"You think I'm hot, Donna?" Kelso asked. "Alright!"

"Yes, you are a very handsome man, Michael Kelso," Fez agreed.

Donna chose to ignore them again. "I'm not exactly saying that you'll start wearing a suit and tie every day, but I do remember hearing that you franchised your record store and own one here, in Cali, and in Colorado."

"Donna, man, I have to give the illusion that I'm conforming to society's ways so that I can survive in this borderline totalitarian world."

"Give the illusion? We _are _conforming. I wear a suit and tie to work every day. I wake up at 7 a.m. for Christ's sake," Eric exclaimed.

"At least you're not working for your dad!" Kelso exclaimed.

All conversation stopped, the room falling quiet. Everyone looked at Kelso, curious to the fact that he contributed to the conversation.

"That's true. Oh man, I couldn't imagine working for Red. He'd kill me," Eric dejectedly said.

"Red's a hardass. All you'd have to do is stand up for yourself and stop being such a pussy, Forman," Hyde said.

"I'd hate to admit it, but Hyde's right," Donna agreed.

"Hell yeah I'm right. You let him treat you like you're seventeen years old."

"I may as well be," Forman said, slouching back into his chair.

"Dude, being seventeen was awesome. I don't know what you're talking about!" yelled Kelso.

"Oh yes. Kelso would still be having intercourse with Jackie, and Donna and Eric would be together, and Hyde and I would be alone," Fez said.

"That's right. Eric and I just started dating then," Donna reminisced.

"Fez, don't put me in the same category as you. I was gettin' laid, and you were still trying to lose your virginity," Steven said, pointing at Fez to make sure his point was clear.

"Being seventeen sucked! I-I don't want to _think_ about all the stupid shit we pulled back then."

"Yeahhhhhh. Me and Jackie."

"Shut up, Kelso. Jackie is mine now."

"See, we're growing up," Donna said.

"Shut your piehole, Donna, man. You're bumming the high," Hyde said, giving her a nudge.

Donna simply smiled and leaned back into her chair, closing her eyes.

A/N: Alright... so I'm afraid from this point it gets a little too dramatic. Meh. We'll see how it goes. :) Drop me a note and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yep, I'm posting fast here because I can! :) There won't be a set posting schedule. I'll just post when I can/when I feel like it.

Chapter 3

"I can't believe I'm about to ask this, but what's up, man? You look bummed," Hyde said, sitting in his favorite chair in the basement, close to his best friend who looked to be deep in thought.

Eric looked up and sighed. "I don't know. Everything Donna was saying about growing up kind of makes me realize I haven't done anything in my life."

Hyde rubbed his eyes behind his sunglasses and placed an arm on Eric's shoulder. "You can't let her get to you. She was always different from us, ahead of us. Smarter. More mature."

"It makes me think of the path I should have taken with her. Like, you remember New Year's Eve in '79 when I came back?" he asked.

"Yeah, I remember. That's when you and Donna hooked back up, right?" Hyde asked patiently, his voice stiff.

Hyde was many things, but one of them was not a sap. Any extended period of talking about emotions or sentimental things made him want to be physically ill. This was prominently illustrated when he dated Jackie.

"Right. You know, the year after, she asked me to marry her?" Eric asked though he knew this would come as a surprise to Hyde.

"She asked you? That sounds like her," Hyde said, snickering quietly.

"Shut up, man. Anyway, that's not the point. I broke up with her when she asked me. The first time around, it was different, and as I got older, I realized I didn't love her."

Eric watched Hyde carefully, making sure that his friend wasn't overwhelmed by the news or starting to get annoyed. Hyde seemed to be calm, cool, and collected, everything he always was. It was something Eric counted on.

"If I didn't mature, I would have taken the easy way out. Marriage, kids, life with her. Everything in a perfect cookie cutter life."

"Life isn't supposed to be easy. You gotta do what you gotta do."

"Right, right," Eric nodded, having the sudden urge to take off Hyde's sunglasses to see if his eyes betrayed his poker face.

He denied the urge and buried the feelings that came with it, settling for a heavy sigh as he flipped on the television.

"And don't say you haven't done anything with your life. You're a teacher. You can't get more noble than that," teased Hyde as he socked Eric in the arm.

"Hey, shut up," Eric said, swinging the arm that Hyde hit over and snatching his glasses away from his face.

"What the-?" started Hyde when Eric set them down on the table and tackled his friend onto the couch.

Wrestling around, he gripped his arms in a hold Red had used on him many times. Once Eric had him in that position, he moved one of his hands under Hyde's armpit and tickled him, giggling girlishly.

"Hey… Hey!" yelped Hyde as he started laughing. "You're not supposed to know-"

"-that you're ticklish? You forget that we shared a room!" Eric shouted, continuing his ministrations until they both ended up on the floor, Hyde somehow managing to come out on top, his larger frame completely covering Forman's.

Eric felt Hyde's warm body settling over his, a comfortable weight. The man's hair had grown longer but was just as curly, covering his aqua eyes almost completely.

"You need to realize, Forman, that you will always be the scrawny neighbor boy, and I will always be the big bad trouble maker from the wrong side of the tracks," said Steven with a smile as he held him pinned with his body weight.

When Steven relaxed, Eric took his shot and looped his leg around his best friend's and flipped him around so he was under him.

"Oh yes, I know that I am a scrawny neighbor boy, but I am not as innocent as I seem. I can hold my own!" exclaimed Forman, noticing how his body couldn't cover Hyde's the way Hyde's covered his.

"Yeah, you pinned a broken diorama and ruined my life once," Hyde brought up.

"Oh yeah! Come on now! We said we wouldn't talk about that again!" exclaimed the brunette, hanging his head in defeat.

"Yeah, but it did give me a great distraction."

"A great distraction? For wh--"

Eric was broken off by Hyde slapping him lightly in the face and flipping him back over.

Burn!

Eric sighed in defeat and stayed quiet for a moment, looking at the laughing face of his best friend and noticed how nice he looked when he genuinely smiled. How beautiful he was even when he was upset. How much his face lit up every time he let his guard down to show real emotion.

He found himself wishing it was more often, wishing he didn't have such a troubled past, most of all, wondering how anyone could abandon him.

"Forman, man, you're freaking me out with the sudden serious face," Hyde said, now kneeling with Eric between his knees.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry," Forman said, not moving from the spot but feeling the loss of contact when Hyde got off of him, only feeling it briefly again when Hyde offered him a hand up.

A/N: Not a review yet, but I'm hoping that will change pretty soon here. / I dunno. I guess we'll see.

The hits and the people adding me to favorites shows me I'm doing something right, at least. Coming up soon is some actionnnnn! The chapters also get longer! Wootness!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for the positive feedback. This chapter's a little filler-ish, but I did want to try to salvage some feeling of canon-ness as I start to delve into hardcore slash here. Hehe. So, rejoice. This is pretty much the last short chapter. As I get into Hyde/Eric, I can't find a good place to stop chapters, and they keep getting from this point on.

Well, I figure, who am I to stop them? I'm working on chapter 11 right now which I'm having fun with. :)

Chapter 4

It was Christmas eve, and Eric sat alone in the basement. Jackie and Donna were helping Kitty bake at Bob's place since they would be spending Christmas day there, and the poor man had no idea how to cook. Kelso was with his dad. He didn't know what the hell Hyde was up to, but he hoped that he didn't come home sick. It was cold as hell outside.

The problem wasn't that he was alone so much as that his thoughts overwhelmed him when he was alone. His body remembered the feeling of Hyde's on his, and it made him more than a little uncomfortable. He knew it was stupid and tried to convince himself that it was because he was lonely, and he did love Hyde as his best friend… or something.

Besides, it's not like they hadn't fooled around like that before… but then he realized they never had. They hugged a few times, but those were man hugs. They were short and impersonal. He had never actually been in such close contact with him.

Eric, deep in thought, failed to notice the door to the basement open and Fez come inside.

"Oh, it is a difficult job to hide presents from Jackie. I must guard them at all times or else she slips in to find what I have gotten her," Fez said with a long, dramatic sigh.

He sat down next to Eric on the sofa and stretched his arm around the back behind Eric.

Alright, so he was uncomfortable with Fez too, but it was a different sort of uncomfortable… it was the way everyone was slightly uncomfortable around him.

"Yeah, that's a tough problem there, Fez," said Eric, only half paying attention.

"Eric, you are sad. I know that you have no one on Christmas eve even though Donna has found a man much more attractive than you and even Kelso has found someone he doesn't want to cheat on, but it is no reason to be sad. It will be alright," Fez said, trying to comfort Eric in a strange way.

"Thanks?" Eric more asked than said, staring blankly at the television in front of him.

"No problem. Eric, you can talk to me about anything! I promise that my lips are waxed," he said, making a zipping motion.

"Sealed," Eric corrected.

"No! I watched a television program that said they are endangered!"

Eric blinked again and just shook his head. "Fez, I think I've got a problem here. I think I'm messed up."

"Well, of course you are messed up. You're having fantasies about waxing seals!" Fez said, laughing.

Eric sighed loudly. "Never mind!" he exclaimed.

"Tell Fez what is going on," he coaxed.

"Well, have you ever looked into someone's eyes, and just, like, thought they were the most perfect thing ever, and I don't mean, like, you just think they're hot; I mean, you, like, think they're…I don't know?" asked Eric, feeling much more uncomfortable talking to Fez than he had felt under Hyde the day before

"Oh, I know what you mean! You want to have sex with them!" exclaimed Fez.

"No! No… forget it," Eric sighed, turning back to Charlie Brown.

"You mean you're happy that they're there? And being able to be with them is the greatest thing you have ever felt," Fez tried again.

Eric turned to Fez, his eyes bugging out of his head. "Yeah! That's exactly it, Fez! How'd you know?"

"I know many things, Eric Forman. It is the love. It is the way I look at Jackie," he said confidently.

Eric's stomach sank deeply.

"Are-are you sure it's not just, like, a stomach ache?" Forman stuttered hopelessly, feeling queasy.

"Well, how long have you felt this way?"

"Who- What? I- I didn't say I felt anything for anyone. In fact, I don't. At all. Zero feelings here!" Eric exclaimed quickly.

"Okay then," Fez said, turning to the television, a smile coming onto his face as he watched.

"But if I were to, hypothetically of course, feel this way for…" he broke off and thought about the time he came down to broiler room two nights after Hyde moved in there and slept on the icy floor next to the cot just because he missed his presence when he slept… and how he couldn't even sleep because he wanted to go back to his own room before Hyde woke up and found him there. "I don't know; give or take, estimating here, about, eight years?"

"Oh, you are most definitely in love then, my fellow American friend!"

He figured. He was screwed. Something like that could only happen to him. Eric Forman loses again. Not only gay but gay for his best friend! If he was gay, he at least should've gone for Buddy.

Eric involuntarily shuddered at the feeling of disgust he had when Buddy kissed him. Okay, back to t.v.

A/N: Had to throw in Buddy. Bwahaha.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Long after Fez left, Eric laid on the sofa in the basement, his face between the cushions. Oh man, life was always so screwed up. He sighed loudly and lightly banged his head against the soft cushions.

"Eric!" his mother called from upstairs.

Eric turned his body so he was facing the t.v. again and noticed that the clock sitting on top of it read five thirty. Five thirty on the day before Christmas, and he'd been sitting alone in a cold, dark basement for six hours, with the exception of the hour Fez spent, talking to him and quietly watching television.

He wondered if Fez actually hadn't grasped the American culture yet or if he was just fucking with them for comedic effect. Either way, Eric appreciated it.

"Yeah, Mom?" called Eric, sitting up and turning around, noticing Kitty's feet at the top of the steps.

"Honey, what are you doing down there by yourself. Come help me and the girls or at least take a walk. You should be having a good time!"

"Yeah, Mom, I know. I'll go outside; I promise," he said, shaking off the nap he'd just had.

"Besides, where's Steven? I hope he's not getting himself into trouble" she yelled, her small legs taking another step down the stairs.

"I'm not really sure, but I don't think he's whoring himself out on the corner," Eric quipped. "He's not Laurie."

His mother laughed in her usual way. "Eric don't say-- you really shouldn't-- We're making muffins!" she exclaimed, laughing nervously again.

"Fantastic!" Eric replied, standing up. "Well, I'm going to be going now, Mom. Thanks for the talk."

He put on his boots and jacket, walking outside before his mother had a chance to say anything else.

Where _was _Hyde?

By the time Forman woke up this morning around ten and went down to the basement, his best friend had already split.

"Hey, Forman."

"Hey, Hyde," Eric answered absentmindedly as he continued walking to his car. Wait a second.

"Hey! Hyde!" he yelped as he noticed the fuzzy-faced man heading to the stairs of the basement.

He turned around. "What?" he asked, removing his hand from the doorknob and walking to the car.

"Hey, you want to go to the reservoir?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered, getting in.

"So, uh… You must have left pretty early," Eric stated casually as he started to take the familiar route.

"Yeah. Around eight," he answered.

"Yep, yep," answered Eric, giggling nervously, a trait he inherited from his mother… or maybe the years of Red beating the confidence out of him.

"What'd you do? Hang out with Kelso and Fez? I know the chicks were probably talking about the guys."

"Nope. I called Kelso, but he had to hang with his dad. Fez stopped by for a bit, though," Eric said somewhat nervously.

He wanted to know where Hyde was, and it was driving him insane. It made him more fidgety than usual, he knew, but he also knew that he couldn't outright ask him. That would raise suspicions about why he was so concerned, and it would make both of them uncomfortable.

"You want to know where I was, don't you?"

Eric breathed a deep sigh of relief, his teeth showing as he smiled crookedly. "More than anything."

"I went to go see Edna."

"Oh."

"Yep."

All conversation stopped. Eric wanted to pry, asking what Edna was doing in town and why Hyde felt the need to go see her. Kitty and Red had practically raised him as their own, and they were his family. Edna only fucked with him, chewing him up and spitting him back out. She was the lowest form of scum, in his opinion.

He knew that if he said this, Hyde would probably agree, but he would also get pissed. He wouldn't show it, but he would be. He would even be hurt. Despite everything, he obviously still cared about this woman. This wasn't like with Laurie.

The walk from where he parked his car to the ladder to the catwalk took twice as long as usual because of the snow, and by the time they sat down, both of them were sweating from the amount of work it took and freezing because the sweat was quickly getting cold.

"Ma-maybe this wa-wasn't such a goo-ood idea," Eric said, shivering.

"Su-suck it up, Forman," Hyde said, letting his legs swing off, leaning against the railing.

"If I die, I want you to have the stash of cash I still have in my secret place. It's the Candy Land box," Eric said, rubbing his bare hands up and down.

"Yeah, I know where it is," Hyde said absent-mindedly, rummaging through a backpack Forman hadn't even noticed Hyde had with him.

"Wh-what's that?" he asked,

"It's my survival kit," he said, suddenly appearing with a think, wool blanket. "Your mom made this for me for a few years back. She made me, like, ten, and said to layer them depending on how cold it got down in the basement.

"Why do you keep one in your backpack?" he asked.

"Because I'm friends with people like you," he answered with a laugh, draping it over himself, sticking his hand out and motioning for Forman to scoot closer.

Sharing a blanket. Yeah. That was bound to go over well. Eric felt a little disgusted at himself that such an innocent gesture of friendship could make him hor- no, he wasn't even going to think it.

"Wait, how'd you know where my secret stash was?" Eric asked, once again digging at the least important detail of what Hyde said.

His best friend laughed again. "You don't remember when you accused me of stealing money from there?"

"And then it turns out Red took it!" Eric angrily said, noticing the way his body and face seemed to heat up at the mere proximity of Hyde.

"That'd be the time," Hyde said casually.

Eric remembered it. That was years ago, but he couldn't believe he'd forgotten. He had genuinely believed, if even it was only for a few hours, that the man next to him had taken money from him How he could have believed it, even for a mere second, let alone for a few hours, was beyond him.

This man, while not gentle or kind, was trustworthy and loyal. Even in his worst moments of weakness and stupidity, he was still someone that would take a bullet for him.

Eric turned to face Hyde and noticed that he was looking down at his feet swinging instead of at the stars. It was too dark to see behind his glasses so Eric finally did what he hadn't once been able to do before. He twisted himself around, one hand around Hyde's back, and used the other to snatch his glasses away, setting them out of his friend's reach.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" Hyde asked.

"The sun's already down, man. It's dark. You don't need these," Eric spewed, laughing nervously again.

"Give them back."

It was a simple command, but it was also one that Eric couldn't fulfill.

"Can't, man. Sorry."

"Why the hell not, dill hole?" Hyde asked, trying to reach around Eric to get them back.

"Because, I need you to look me in the eyes right now, Steven," Eric said.

Everything seemed to go silent and still, Hyde taking in the fact that Eric had called him by his first name, something which was so completely foreign to him at this point at that it literally shocked him enough to stop his quest to get his sunglasses back. And so he stayed like that, Steven's curls draping around his face, his scruffy face only inches away from Eric's smooth one. Their breathing was visible and mingled together, Steven's knees touching Eric's beneath the surprising warmth of the red maroon blanket.

"I never fully told you how sorry I was and I am."

"Forman, it's alright," Steven tried to interject.

"No. No, it's really not. It's not okay, man. It's not okay!" Eric passionately stated.

"That was yea-"

"I don't care if it was before we were born. It may as well have been yesterday. You are my best friend, the one thing that has never changed, the one person who has always been there for me. I may as well have accused myself of stealing it!"

Their blue eyes met, Eric's intensity radiating from his body and oozing from his eyes.

"I understand why thought it was me, though. I was never as good as you. I was never as-"

Eric interjected, "No. You are twice the man I am, in size, and in heart," Eric proclaimed with a laugh, glad to feel Hyde's steady breathing against his face.

"You always gave me too much credit, even then. It's part of what makes you Eric Forman, I know, but fuck, man, you don't have to be such a pansy about it," Hyde said, only half joking.

Eric's eyes were still locked on Hyde's daring him to look away, and he could see that he meant what he said.

And then Eric did what his body told him to and closed the gap between them, his cool lips colliding with Hyde's surprisingly soft and warm ones, their noses bumping.

Eric's hand traveled from his side to Hyde's hair, something Eric always had a strange urge to touch but only one previously had. It was surprisingly soft like his lips were, in contrast to his demeanor and facial hair.

He didn't want to think about the fact that Hyde had neither pushed him away nor punched him. In fact, his lips were moving against his rhythmically, his tongue sliding along his lips, gaining access.

When the two finally broke apart, they opened their eyes again and locked them, Eric noticing that Steven had a warmth in his eyes.

"Fuck, Forman, you know how to kiss," Hyde exclaimed, both of them bursting out in laughter.

"Well, you know what they say about scrawny neighbor boys!"

"That they grow up and become scrawny neighbor men?" Hyde asked.

Eric punched him in the shoulder and laughed, forgetting that they had something more pressing to deal with. It didn't really matter right now though. What mattered was that they were sitting pressed next to each other, looking at the stars like they used to.

A/N: See! Told you it'd be a little (or a lot) longer. I hope I didn't make this scene too awkward or whatever. Lemme know. Heh.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for the nice feedback. I appreciate it. Here's the next chapter. I'm trying to refrain from making this story fall into extreme fangirl-fandom-syndrome like so many of the others I've read do. I mean, I love a good romance, but I don't want you to be able to replace the names of the characters with anyone else. I want this to stay in character, and in character isn't "I LOVE YOU!" every other line as they stare at each other longingly. Heh.

Chapter 6

"Eric. Hey, Eric, get your ass up," someone with a middle registered voice said, gently shaking him.

Eric opened his eyes, groggy. He sneezed into his pillow and turned upward to face- OH MY GOD.

He screamed. "Donna, what are you doing here?" he yelped, his voice cracking like it did the very first night Donna snuck into his room. Except that was different. They were dating, and he wanted to have sex with her. Neither one of those was applicable now, and it still freaked him out.

"I'm trying to wake you up. It's eight on Christmas day, and your mom sent me up here to wake you. Hell, even Hyde's awake?"

"Hyde's awake?" he asked, sneezing again. Obviously, the warmth he felt last night was not enough to keep him from catching a cold.

"Jesus, you look like shit. What'd you do? Snow angels with Kelso?" When Eric opened his mouth to answer, Donna cut him off with a shake of her head and opened her mouth to speak again. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Do you want me to tell your mom to let you have another hour or two?"

"No, no, it's alright," he answered, sitting up, shivering when his covers slid down his bare chest. "I'm pretty sure Red would kill me if I-"

"Eric, get your ass down here so we can open the god damned presents," Red shouted up the stairs, causing Donna to explode in laughter.

"Right on time as always. Even for all the things Red has done to me over the years, I could always look back and say, 'Man, my dad's a punctual guy!' Yes, that's what I'll tell my kids one day when they ask me what my childhood was like," Eric said, the effect of his sarcasm not completely hitting the mark because he sneezed three times through his speech.

"Nice, honest relationship you'll have there. Always good to build the trust," Donna said, getting off of Eric's bed so he could get up and put on a shirt.

He knew from his vast experience in Christmas mornings that his pajama pants and a shirt were just fine for this. No shower or actual clothes required. One thing he did opt for, however, was slippers because the floor was freezing.

"You know me, Donna. I'm an honest man. Hell, I should be on a commercial or something, like one of those used car dealers," Eric said, pulling a shirt over his head.

"Or something," Donna agreed, taking his arm and pulling him out of his room and down the stairs where everyone minus Kelso and Fez were sitting, sprawled around the coffee table, there not being enough room to sit on the couches.

"G-good morning, g-guys. Merry Christmas!" He exclaimed, sneezing through every word, his head pounding.

"Merry Christmas," they all echoed except for Kitty who stood up immediately and rushed to her son, putting her hand on his forehead.

"Oh boy. Go back to bed, Eric. You're sick," she said, finality in her voice.

"N-no, it's fine, Mom," he said unconvincingly, his hand gripping Donna's shoulder for support.

"Eric, go back to bed," she said again.

"Come on, Mrs. Forman. At least let him stay down here a while," Hyde said, standing up from his perch on the edge of the sofa and putting an arm around Eric.

Eric let go of Donna and opted to lean his body ever so slightly against Hyde's.

"Kitty, it's Christmas. Let the boy at least open his presents," Red added in, not looking at his son.

"Oh, alright," she gave in, "but you're going back to bed at noon and staying there until dinner time. Do you understand, mister?" she asked, laughing.

"Yeah, Mom. Thanks, Dad!" Eric exclaimed, looking to his dad.

"Yeah, sit down and shut up, Eric. If you weren't such a dumbass, you wouldn't have gotten yourself sick for Christmas."

"Right. Thanks, Dad. Your Christmas spirit really makes me feel a lot better," Eric replied, taking the seat Donna's boyfriend, James, offered him.

"You watch your smart mouth. You're twenty-five years old," Red said.

Eric was left with no strength to argue any further and simply replied with a "Yes, Sir" and watched as Donna opened one of her boyfriends, a necklace her dad had given her.

While the presents were being opened, Eric couldn't help but notice that Hyde still had his hand on Eric's back even though he was now sitting on the arm of Eric's chair, and both of them seemed to be stable.

It all seemed very natural and normal, and Eric hated that this touch made him scream inside even though Hyde was simply watching expressionless as people opened presents, sometimes laughing satirically and making his smartass comments.

"Eric, this one's the best because it's from me, and I have the best taste," Jackie squealed, handing Eric a present wrapped in pink paper.

"Gee, I'm really excited to open this, Jackie," he said with an empty smile on his face as he carefully ripped at the wrapping paper.

Inside was a mail grooming kit. Oh, joy.

"Isn't it great, Eric? Now you can finally trim that bush in your nose!" Jackie exclaimed.

The room burst out laughing, and Eric could even feel Hyde's body convulsing next to his. Eric quickly covered his nose.

"I don't… have nose hair… do I?" he asked, his hand still covering his nose.

"No, of course not, honey!" his mother exclaimed, already picking up another present.

"Good. Thanks, Mom," he said, looking down at the kit.

"It's more like a nose tree!" Kitty exclaimed, and the whole room burst into harder laughter.

"Oh, that's just great," he sarcastically said, finally uncovering his nose and setting the present down at his feet.

"Don't worry, Eric, maybe in the future they can transplant some of that onto your chin, and you'll finally be able to grow facial hair!" Donna added.

"Oh God! Will it ever stop?" Eric asked miserably, and if it wasn't for the fact that he was sick, his pink cheeks would be a very visible sign of his embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Eric," Bob added. "The misery will be over soon as soon as you hit puberty!"

Forman's hands hit his hands, and he closed his eyes miserably.

"Cut it out, guys. Forman's sick, and he can't defend himself," Hyde said, and the laughter died out. Eric looked at him appreciatively. "Of course, he can't do it when he's healthy either."

And the laughter started again. Simply a moment in the life of Eric Forman.

A/N: Enough to make the fangirls squee without making everyone else puke, I think. :)


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This one's a bit shorter, but like I said, I end them where I feel appropriate. I'm working 'round chapter 15 right now. I wasn't going to post this either, in fact, but I got a really nice review that made me squee more than usual so I'm posting it! Enjoy!

Chapter 7

"And someone stay up there with him to look after him!" exclaimed Kitty as Eric walked miserably up the stairs.

"I've got it, Mrs. Forman," Hyde exclaimed, walking closely after him.

"Thank you, Steven! Such a sweet boy!"

"Sweet my ass," Eric muttered under his breath.

"What?! I am! I'm the favorite now that your dad knows what a whore your sister is," Steven said with a smirk as he walked Eric to his room and closed the door behind him, locking it unconsciously.

Eric was barely into his room before he collapsed onto the bed, his face in the pillow. "Don't remind me. That makes me third."

They were both silent for a few moments before Hyde opened Eric's drawer and pulled out a small t.v. He turned on the switch and tuned the rabbit ears.

"Scoot over," Hyde demanded.

"What?" Eric asked. "Get bent. This is my bed."

"Shut the hell up and move over. If I'm stuck making sure you don't die, I'm at least going to be comfortable," he said, laying down in the bed next to Eric and setting the small television down between them.

Laying down side to side for a few minutes, Eric began to think, and finally, he voiced these thoughts.

"Hey, Hyde, man?" he asked, not caring about the random soap opera they were watching.

"Hmm?" he replied, his eyes still focused on the screen.

"I just… I was wondering about last night?" he asked more than stated, hating that his voice sounded so weak even though it was partially attributed to having a cold and a slight fever.

"Yeah. Sucks that you ended up getting sick, huh?" Hyde answered though Eric knew Hyde knew what he was talking about because his body tensed ever so slightly even if his eyes were still focused on the screen.

"That's not what I meant," Eric said bravely.

There was a pause, and Eric noticed that though his friend was still staring at the screen, his eyes weren't focused on it.

"Yeah, I know, man. I'm not sure. You?" he asked as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

"I don't know. I mean, if I were to say, just as an example, and not like it's the truth or anything, that I liked it, what sort of a response would that warrant from you?" Eric asked, his brows furrowed, his arms gesturing wildly.

Hyde seemed to really take his time to consider this. "Did you like it?"

Eric, though slightly shaking from the nerves, was still Eric. "Hell yeah."

"Me, too," Hyde admitted casually, each watching the other's reaction.

"Well, okay, I guess that's reasonable then. In that case, the only thing left to do is," he broke off from mid conversation and lunged on top of Hyde and began to kiss him, their legs tangling together and limbs meshing.

After only a few seconds, Eric stopped and sneezed, rolling back over to his side, this time putting his head at the crook by Hyde's armpit.

"O-okay then," Eric said.

"Okay," agreed Hyde, and they continued to watch the show, feeling ever like awkward teenagers (though Eric moreso than Hyde).


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Oh screw you all for reviewing so fast. Here's an update as thanks. It's another short one, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Honestly, it's my least favorite chapter to date, but it's setting up a subplot I'll be using later so deal with it. Plus, I like the idea of just having a purely dialogue/fun/gang chapter.

Chapter 8

"Hello, all," Fez greeted as he walked into the basement an hour before dinner.

Jackie squealed like a pig when she saw him and jumped into his arms. "Hi, honey!"

"Hello, my lady love. The happiness radiates from you like a pond reflects the full moon, and it is only matched by your beauty, both inside and out," said Fez, only aiding the shrieks which followed.

"I'm going to be sick, too," Hyde said, leaning back in his usual chair.

"I think it's sweet in a disturbing sort of way," Donna said, leaning into James, the tall blond man who was in her life now.

"You'd never let me get away with saying that without eating me alive," he exclaimed, running his hands through her hair.

"That's because you wouldn't mean it, and I don't mind that. Fez takes it so seriously," Donna replied, dodging a swat on the head from her boyfriend.

"I'm bored," Kelso whined, "and I'm hungry!"

"I say we play an old fashioned game," suggested Hyde, "of truth or dare."

Almost everyone in the room cringed, remembering the last time they played it a year ago. Fez ended up streaking down the street, and he was instructed to kiss anyone who stopped him. He took it very literally, and the first cop that tackled him also got a nice, long kiss. It was all kinds of fun bailing him out of jail.

"Pass," said Eric, meeting Hyde's gaze which was hidden behind his sunglasses.

"I'm in," Jackie said surprisingly as it was her fiancée who ended up in the deepest of shit.

"C'mon, Eric. If Jackie's in, you have to be in. She's half your size and twice as bitchy."

"It's true, Eric. I am," Jackie nodded, an evil smirk on her face.

"Alright, whatever, but I am NOT getting arrested," Eric said, slamming his hand on the coffee table.

"Fair enough," agreed Hyde. "Who wants to start?"

"I will," said Jackie a little too excitedly.

"Truth or dare, Michael!" she exclaimed, staring at the oblivious man in the corner.

"DARE!"

"Okay. Michael, I dare you to call Mrs. Forman sexy at least twice during dinner tonight."

"Oh my God! Jackie! Gross!" exclaimed Eric. "That's not even-"

"Deal!" exclaimed Kelso far too eagerly for Eric's liking and much to the disturbance of many occupants. "Alright, Donna. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Donna said, afraid that he would make every single dare to kiss him.

"Do you think I'm hot?"

Everyone groaned, and Donna rolled her eyes. "You are attractive, Kelso," she started, and waited for him to finish whooping before she added, "but am I attracted to you? No."

There was much laughter in the room.

"Hyde. Truth or dare."

"Truth."

"Have you ever really been in love?"

"Yes," and without elaborating, much to the annoyance of everyone in the room, he moved on. "Fez, truth or dare."

Eric wondered who Hyde had been in love with. A part of him wanted to think it was Jackie because he could not remember Hyde seriously dating someone else or even showing interest. Well, to be fair, Hyde had enough sex with random girls to assume that he had an interest in them. Like that girl who he almost went to New York with, or the stripper, or even Donna. Thinking of Donna, was it possible that he had been in love with her? They'd been closer than even she and Eric had been before they started dating. That wouldn't be too far-fetched. Or maybe Eric was included?

Was that possible? No, Eric told himself. He wasn't even sure if Hyde liked him or if this was some sort of experiment. Eric shook it off.

"I think I have learned my lesson and will stick with the truth this time, Hyde. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you again, you evil, evil bastard," Fez said, causing everyone in the room to laugh again.

"Okay, Fez, because I think we all want to know: have you ever kept anyone's secret?"

"Yes, I have," he said, "And I intend to keep it that way so I will be saying dare for the rest of the turns if that is necessary."

"Wow, Fez, that's noble, man," Hyde said, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, in my country you could get a foot cut off for telling something important."

"Where is he from?" asked James.

"It's not your turn to ask a question, blond handsome man," said Fez. "Eric, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to answer this question truthfully," Fez evasively said.

"That's _so _against the rules, man. You can't do that!" argued Eric, nervous about the question.

"The rules, man? The rules are the man's way of trying to control us. This is the US of A, not some fascist totalitarian country. Ask your question, Fez, man," argued Hyde, ignoring the desperate glare that Eric was sending him.

"Thank you, Hyde. Eric, have you recently been in love with anyone in this room?" asked Fez.

Eric sighed deeply, hoping they would all believe the answer was Donna. "Yes. Hyde, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to tell the truth to this question," Eric countered, afraid of his own question. "Have you ever been in love with anyone in this room?"

Everyone looked on curiously, their eyes shifting between Jackie, Donna, and Hyde, but never once looking to anyone else.

"No, man. I haven't."

"Okay," gulped Eric. "I think it's time for dinner. Mom?!" he yelped, running up the stairs.

"Whoa, what's his rush?" asked Donna.

Everyone shrugged except Hyde who curiously watched his friend hop up the stairs.

A/N: Also, this story will be changing to an M rating. I just finished writing the chapter I was working on a few minutes ago, and... it's dirty. :)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I've managed to turn a comedy, Hyde/Eric slash story into something people read. I'm going to get on my soapbox here for a second here. I've been a Harry Potter fandom writer, and there, it's all about the porn, the sex, the... you get the picture. Your story isn't read unless it has that (though I managed to turn that around a bit). Here, in this fandom, it feels like everything is either Jackie/Hyde or it's very depressing. It's so depressing that it turns into a big fucking emo production of fill in the blank scene band cutting their wrists. Like, really, do you really see the characters of That 70s Show doing that? I don't nor is it appealing. So, I'm happy to see the readers of this are willing to stick around with me as I experiment to see what I can do to please myself and you!

Getting off my soapbox now. Anyhow, thanks for reading the note, thanks for giving the story a try, and thanks for all the support I've gotten. I appreciate it. My promise to you is that no one will be raped, abused, and no one will commit suicide, cut, or go on a killing rampage. Amen. LOL.

Chapter 9

"I'm glad to see your nap made you feel better, sweetie," Kitty cooed to her son when he emerged with the gang from next door.

The Pinciotti's was decked out with streamers and lights, their living room set up with a large table filled with food.

"Yeah, I'm feeling tons better," he said, having a seat next to her instead of at the other end like he usually did when they had big gatherings.

He kept his eyes on his plate, noticing long, strawberry hair sway out of the corner of his eye as Donna sat down next to him.

"Eric," she said, her warm breath close to his ear.

He didn't turn his body. Instead, he nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"What's up with you? You've been acting really weird for the past week. Did something happen? Did you have a fight with your mom or Hyde or something?" she asked.

Eric jumped up, bumping his knees against the table and causing it to shake. "No! What? Why would you say that?" he asked quickly, sitting back down when everyone's eyes turned to him.

"He's on dope," commented Red two seats down from him before turning back to Bob.

"Dude, Eric, you're freaking me out."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I don't know, Donna," he answered truthfully.

He knew why he had been acting weirder than usual, and that was because he finally managed to come to admit his feelings for his friend. It had been similar to the process he went through with Donna except this was slightly more complicated for many reasons.

What confused Eric was why he freaked out when he found out Hyde hadn't loved anyone in that room. It was more of a compilation of things that shouldn't have freaked him out on their own but put together gave him a pretty big blow.

It was the unreasonable feeling of despair he had because Hyde had never loved him. Of course, he knew the chance of the callous man being in love with him was slim to none; it still hurt. Feelings were stupid. Yes, yes. They were.

Then, it shocked him to realize that Hyde had a life he didn't know about. Who had he been close enough to, to love them? They had been best friends since they were five. He doubted it could have been while he was in Africa. He stayed fully updated and in touch. Was it while he and Donna were in college? He only went to Donna's school for two years before he transferred to Colorado where he and Hyde had roomed together ever since.

Of course, he had weekly phone calls and letters with his friend… hadn't he? …Had he? Maybe not. Fuck. That was Eric's fault then.

And why was he so upset anyway? Well, hell.

"Like, I know that we didn't exactly end on the best of notes, and our friendship has never fully recovered since the breakup, but I thought we were getting back to being best friends. You can talk to me, Eric. You know you always can," she said quietly, reaching her hand around to rub his back.

"Yeah, I know. I appreciate that," he answered as he started to serve himself.

"Good," she said before slapping his head. "And that's for scaring me, you jerk!"

Eric jumped up again, startling everyone who was already seated. He smiled sheepishly and apologized before sitting back down.

"Ha ha ha ha. Eric, stop being silly," Kitty Forman said to her son. "So, hey, how is teaching going for you?"

"Well, Mom, it's a little bit like being in the circus, and I'm the guy with the hat and the whip, getting the bear to do tricks… except it's more like the bear is really, really mean and untrained, and there are twenty bears all circling me, and my only means of escape is a tiny tricycle."

"It's work. Work isn't supposed to be fun," reminded Red. "Being a teacher: that's a steady job. Don't screw it up."

"I've definitely gotten used to the whole _eating thing _so I think I'll probably stick with it," he said, noticing that Red's attentions were no longer on him. Good, good. He wouldn't get a lecture about his mouth or how intelligent it might or might not be.

"Yeah, man. You know he goes there an hour before school actually starts every day? He's being all responsible, saying he wants to be there if 'the kids' need help," mocked Steven.

"Ohhhh, Eric! That's so sweet that you care about them!" Jackie exclaimed. "You know, if you were with Donna right now, you could have kids of your own and then you wouldn't have to care about other people's."

"Why yes. Thank you for sharing that, Hyde," Eric sighed, dropping his head again.

"I think it's great that you're trying to be a teacher less lame than the ones we had, Eric," Donna added, ignoring Jackie's comments as she usually did.

"What are you teaching, Eric?" asked James beside Donna, smiling at the scene in front of him.

He was still new to this world. He had much to learn.

"He is teaching ninth grade English, are you not Eric?" asked Fez.

"Yep. That's right, and let me tell you… I feel stupid walking in there every day. I still don't feel qualified. It's, like, I speak it, but I have no idea how it works."

"Don't worry, man. Neither does Fez," Kelso supplied helpfully.

Eric couldn't help but giggle at the comment, causing him to ease up and feel better.

He didn't even remember why he felt uncomfortable in the first place. With the exception of Kelso's wife and Donna's boyfriend, these people were his family.

A/N: Ta da!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm a fan of this chapter! I think I manage to capture Eric pretty well. I love writing him, and it makes me warm and fuzzy when I think I did him justice. So, here you go!

Chapter 10

It was two in the morning on the twenty-sixth of December when Eric Forman, despite sneezing a couple of dozen times along the way, found himself at the stairs of the basement without waking anyone up. Oh, yes. Mission accomplished.

Forman took the time to do a little dance, a smile on his face, before he descended the steps. He noticed how completely pitch black the basement was, the only light coming from the door going outside. It was kind of depressing, now that Eric thought about it, and he wondered how Hyde could sleep down here.

He was a little scared himself right now.

He sucked it up and stumbled around before he found the light switch. The second he clicked on the lights, he screamed slightly and jumped back, not expecting the face of Steven Hyde to be staring at him, his sunglasses still on.

"Shit, man. You scared me!"

"_I_ scared _you?_ What the hell are you doing down here? It's got to be, like, three in the morning, man," Hyde said, his voice sounding wide awake and not the least bit tired.

"No, no, no," Eric hurriedly said, shrugging, a smile coming onto his face. "Naw," he repeated, cocking his head back, "it's only, like, two."

"That's great and all, but what the fuck are you doing here at two in the morning?" he repeated.

"What? Can't a guy come down to his own basement and just chill?"

"Forman."

"Alright," Eric acquiesced. "I'm grabbing my jacket and going out for a drive to think."

"Yeah, man. That's cool."

"Yeah. Alright… Alright," Eric nodded, twitching as he noticed how close Hyde had moved to him.

As Eric grabbed his jacket, he noticed that Hyde grabbed his, too. "What're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm coming with you."

"O-okay," Forman said, nodding slowly and unlocking the door to the basement before stepping outside. "Why?"

"Because you're freaking out about something, and it's starting to piss me off."

Forman stopped at the door to his old car and took a deep breath, looking at Hyde. Then, he nodded. Yeah, it was true. Taking one more deep breath in, he let himself into the car, automatically turning on the heat, knowing it wouldn't become hot for a while.

It was a silent night, ironically enough. Even the occasional parties that took place in Point Place were abandoned because everyone spent Christmas with their families and was now tucked safely into their beds, full of food. The streets didn't have tire tracks even though it stopped snowing three hours ago. That proved that the streets were dead.

Well, either that or a steamroller magically came by to make it look as if no one was. Somehow, though, he doubted that this was the case.

Only five minutes of driving with cold air still blasting from the air conditioning found Eric pulling over, noticing a park he used to play in when he was younger. Without looking at Hyde, he took the keys out of the ignition and got out, heading for the swingset as he always did.

It didn't matter how old Eric Forman got. He was a sucker for swinging. A park without a swing set was just, like, a reason to cry, man. A joke. A cruel, cruel joke.

Beginning to swing back and forth, he noticed that Hyde took a seat at the bottom of the slide and began to rub his hands together for warmth.

"You know, I just can't stop screwing myself over. I'm going to end up with pneumonia before long. Yep. That seems like something that could happen to me," Eric stated.

"C'mon, Forman. Your life nowhere near sucks so stop your whining. I'm here," replied the other man, half smiling as he crossed his arms.

Eric snorted.

"But seriously, man, what's wrong with you? Donna's right. You're being weirder than usual."

Eric's eyes nearly jumped out of his sockets. The man who he had kissed twice now and had buried feelings for, for God knows how many years, was now asking him why he was being weird.

"Hmm, gee, I don't know, Hyde. It's not like something really different and life-changing is going on or anything except… hmm… Oh wait! It is!" Eric yelped, jumping off the swing, ignoring the dog which began to bark because of his outburst.

"You're being dramatic."

"I-I'm being _dramatic_, am I? How? _How_ am I being dramatic?"

"Well, for starters, you're yelling at me like I fucked your life up," answered Hyde, still sitting unmoved on the slide.

"Right," said Eric, deflated. "Sorry."

"No problem. Now, I don't see what the issue here is. Are we still best friends?"

"Yeah, man. Of course."

"Did you do something you didn't want to do?"

"No."

"Now, this is the big one: Do you find yourself inexplicably attracted to Kelso?"

"Ugh, no. Hell no. That's gross."

"Exactly," answered Hyde, a wiry smile coming onto his face.

"When you put it like that, it doesn't sound like anything should be wrong," said Eric, somehow not feeling better.

"But something still is. I know you, Forman. You've got the emotions of a chick. What's up?"

Eric stood in the snow, his jeans now soaked through as he thought of a way to delicately state his problems. He should have realized the second he turned thirteen that he was incapable of being coy or lying to people. He just couldn't do it.

"Well, I think I'm gay. Nope. Scratch that. I'm _sure _I want to fool around with a guy… a guy that I _like_… a guy that is you, my best friend of," he paused to consider this carefully before nodding, "pretty much since I can remember. Which is especially sucky considering I'm pretty sure you don't reciprocate. Also found out that this same best friend who's screwing with my head also has this whole other life and love and whatever else I didn't know about!" Forman's words exploded from him.

"Ah, so that was the reason you bolted after truth or dare," stated Hyde, a wide grin on his face.

"Pretty much."

"Well, let's address this bit by bit."

"That sounds reasonable," answered Forman, sitting back down on the swing he abandoned moments earlier.

"Who the hell cares if you're gay? And besides, well, I wouldn't even say you're gay, necessarily. I mean, you still dug Donna. You're not smart enough to fake that."

"That's probably true," agreed Eric.

"But you do want to, uh, do whatever with me?" he asked for confirmation.

"Yep," agreed Eric again.

"And I don't reciprocate?" asked Hyde.

"Do you?" he asked in disbelief.

"Would I have made out with you twice now if I didn't? If I didn't, wouldn't I have socked you?"

"Thinking about it now, the answer would be 'yeah, he probably would have!'"

"Deductive reasoning has never been your strong suit, man. Now, for you freaking out about this whole different life thing, I have a right mind _to_ sock you. Get bent. You leave Point Place on a whim, and God knows what happened while you were gone. Then, the second you get back, you go off to college with Donna. Man, screw you if you think you have a right to be mad at me for not telling you my shit. You never told me any of yours."

Eric closed his eyes and took a deep breath. None of that was _not_ true.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?" asked Forman, more to himself than to Hyde.

"Damn straight," replied Hyde, the smile coming back to his face.

"So, this thing we've got going here?" Forman asked, unsure of what he was asking and the type of answer he was going to get.

"I don't want to turn into a chick here so I'll say this once: I like you, man, and I'm up for whatever happens."

Eric nodded. "Well, okay then."

"Okay."

A/N: Next chapter has some action (though no smut; that doesn't come until a little later). Pretty soon, I'll change the rating to an M. I contemplated doing it now, but I'm not sure which kind of readers I'm trying to attract here. Hah. Anyway, thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Mmkay... I've halted this story at chapter 16 right now. I'm having trouble coming out of smut. It's a little awkward, but I'll get over it. I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this weekend, and college starts the week after next so I wanna see what I'm going to do about it... either keep it going or finish it up within the next two weeks. We'll see!

Chapter 11

If he didn't know any better, Eric would say he was high right now. It was a total out of body experience for him, watching himself swing in silence as Hyde laid on the slide, his sunglasses still on as always. He wondered if he could even see the stars through the shades. Then again, did it really matter? He doubted that Hyde was really admiring the natural beauty of the stars as much as just having a calm, quiet moment, something he hadn't been able to have with Jackie's annoying bird-like screeching and Kelso's constant need to be himself.

But deep down, Eric knew that Hyde liked being home as much as everyone else did. He didn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning or meetings in the morning. Kitty took care of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and everything in between. They could hang like they used to back before anything was messed up.

Any disputes they had when they all parted ways were ignored in favor of reliving simpler times before light pollution made the stars hard to see and the water tower was repainted. It was all strangely nostalgic and nice, something Eric hated to admit. It was just something about being home that made him relax.

"It was when you and Donna left," stated Steven, not sitting up.

"That's what I figured. I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch, man."

"That's cool," he said, causing Eric to do a double take and wonder what he meant by it. "It was this totally cool chick named Lily. She really got me, you know? She was a clerk in my store and going to school for political science. I overheard her telling a customer once that the government had shut down a plan to develop a teleportation device because they wanted us to rely on their oil which totally makes sense, right?"

"Right," said Eric skeptically, nodding at his friend's conspiracy theories as always, ignoring the pang of jealousy he felt, knowing they could never connect at Hyde's base level, a paranoid, paranoid man.

"So, we ended up just talking for a while, and we dated for a few months after that. It was seriously rad."

"Yeah? So, what happened?" Eric asked, looking at his wet legs, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Nothing. I was opening a new store in Colorado, and she was graduating from college. She asked if she could come with me, but something didn't fit, man, you know? We just ended it, and we both left."

"But you really loved her?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I really did," he answered, now sitting up and looking at his friend.

Hyde took off his sunglasses and set them aside, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"That's how it was with me and Donna, too," Eric remarked. "I had to get away after I broke up with her, though. She was so hurt, and I couldn't even meet her eyes. I was a total coward."

"Naw, you weren't. You told her the truth. Remember what your mommy tells you: you're a nice a boy," Hyde remarked, making a mocking kissy face to Forman.

"Hey!" he shouted, getting up and walking over to the other man. "Now, I love my mommy very much, and I don't appreciate you mocking our relationship!"

Hyde stopped, a smile on his face as he stuck out his tongue. "You have a relationship with your mommy!"

"Shut up!" Eric said, pushing Hyde.

"Or what? You gonna make me, Forman?"

"Oh, am I going to make you? Am I going to make you? Yes!" he answered, throwing himself on top of the other man.

This time, there was no hesitation before Hyde initiated a kiss, pulling Eric close to him, his hands going under his jacket and shirt, scratching his back slightly.

Eric shivered as Steven's cold and clammy hands caused goose bumps along his skin, partially because of the contact of the cold, and partially because the feeling of his calloused hands against his smooth back made his veins want to explode.

A moan escaped Eric's lips and reverberated through the quiet air as Hyde's lips began to trail against Eric's jaw and down to his neck, sucking gently, something Eric didn't think Hyde was capable of. Eric didn't argue as Hyde pushed them both into a sitting position, taking charge and scooting Eric into his lap.

"You're so light," Steven said between kisses as he continued to draw circles on Eric's back.

"Yeah, Kitty always told me I was going to grow, but I have to tell you, man, I think the jig is up. I think this is as big as I'm going to get," joked Eric, his head cocked to one side so Steven could have more access to his milky skin.

"Mmm," agreed Hyde causing Eric's skin to tingle.

One of Forman's hands found its way into Hyde's hair while the other held him closer. Hyde hadn't even been working on the hickey he was giving him for five minutes before Eric tensed, feeling himself start to get hard. One part of Eric's brain told him not to panic since this was a natural reaction, but another part screamed "ABORT!" How embarrassing would it be to be fooling around for such a short period of time and already be horny?

Oh God.

"Oh God," Eric voiced out loud, his tone higher than usual, a husky undertone mixed in.

"What _now_?" asked Hyde as he stopped his ministrations and looked Eric in the eyes.

"I… uh… nothing," he said, trying to sound casual when he felt every bit like one of his students.

"Alright then. Shut up. I'm trying to work here." Hyde had a smile on his face as he kissed Eric on the lips before moving back down to the red spot.

"… It's just that," he started, causing Hyde to sigh into him, take his hands out from under his shirt, and push Eric off of him.

Eric watched, feeling as dumb as ever, as Hyde began to walk to the old Vista Cruiser.

"Where are you going?" he yelped after him, trying to figure out a way to adjust his jacket so it would cover the bulge in his pants.

"To the car. You're pissing me off, and it's too cold for me to be this annoyed."

A/N: I actually really like the ending... Hyde just getting up and leaving. Bwahaha.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm going to try to finish this story up within the next few chapters because I've lost interest. An unregistered reviewer said I had too many "stylistic errors" to make this a "great story" and highly recommended I get a beta reader. Now, I'm all up for constructive criticism (namely since I haven't gotten much in this story, heh), but I haven't the slightest idea what "stylistic errors" are. As far as I'm concerned, a style is just that. I'm not going to change my diction if that's what it means. Nothing more specific was said about it so I'm going to mock it a second longer. Savor the moment. Feel free to come back more specifically.

As for getting a beta reader, that's a valid point. There's repetitive sentence structure going on, not a wide variety of word choice, and there are simple grammatical and mechanical (and typoing, sometimes) errors. Thing is, like I said in the beginning of the story, it's not happening. Sorry, guys. Take it or leave it. By all means, PLEASE tell me what I can do to improve my raw writing or what I can do to improve in general, but this isn't a story I'm going to spend a whole lot of extra time on. In the future, there's a good chance I may do another That 70s Show fanfiction. However, this isn't the time. I do love this pairing, and I do hope you stick around for the smut. I, personally, would still read this story, even though it is un-beta'd. Just because I don't have extra time doesn't mean I don't care and don't love it!

Plus, I do think I'm hitting the dialogue right on.

Chapter 12

"So, uh, Donna, I have something to tell you," the silky-haired man said, dragging his female best friend into his room, bolting it shut behind her and dragging her to the furthest away corner from the door.

She laughed, looking at him like he was stupid. "I don't think these precautions are necessary anymore, but whatever makes you feel comfortable."

"Okay. Sit down," he said, pacing the room back and forth, stopping every now and then to open his mouth like a fish out of water before sighing and returning to his pacing.

"Eric, you're being weird again. We talked about this."

"I know. That's why we're here," he stated, finally stopping in front of where she was sitting cross-legged on his bed. "I like Hyde."

He took a deep breath and let it out, feeling at ease now that he told her.

"Yeah, I know you do," she stated, looking at him like he was stupid again.

"You do?" Eric asked, hopefully.

"Yeah. You guys have been best friends since you were, like, five years old," said Donna, her tone suggesting that it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Eric cringed when he heard the words come out of her mouth.

He could have said it in a clearer way. Could've said he was attracted to Hyde or told her that they made out or something, _anything_ to avoid the need for clarification. The weight that had been lifted off of his shoulders now settled right back on.

"No, Donna. I _like_ Hyde," he tried again, this time waving his arms and nodding his head for emphasis.

"Oh," she said, her brows furrowing in confusion. Suddenly, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "OH!"

Eric nodded enthusiastically, glad she understood now.

"OH MY GOD. YOU LIKE HYDE?!" she screeched. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!"

"Oooookay then. Now you see why I had to wait until you and I were alone and _still_ dead bolted the door?" he asked in a rush tone, sitting down on the bed next to her and putting his head in his hands, laughing nervously in a way that he got from his mother.

This could not turn out well.

"Deep breath, Pinciotti," she said to herself in a way Eric had only seen her do twice before, once when Hyde was in jail and the other time when he broke up with her. This was definitely not good.

"Donna? Are you okay?" he asked, hoping that she would be once she finished talking to herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said calmly. "Except I just found out THAT MY EX-BOYFRIEND IS _GAY_!"

Eric bent over and starting banging his head into the bed as her words became exceedingly faster and more high-pitched. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God," Eric repeated to himself.

After a few moments of hyperventilating, each not sure whether it was their own frenzied breathing, the other's, or both of theirs combined, Donna was the first to speak. "I think I'm fine now.

"Really? You think you're done with the _screaming_?" Eric asked hopefully as he lifted his head from the bed and met her eyes.

"Hey, shut up. That's a pretty big shock to me. Smart move on waiting to get me alone, though. You get props for that."

"Well, I am a smart guy," Eric said, a nervous smile on his face.

"So, uh, are you gay? I mean, like, were you gay while we were…?" She trailed off, unable to finish the question.

"I'm a little fuzzy on that myself, to be honest. I did like having sex with you. Oh, yes yes. That was very nice," he said, licking his lips and smiling.

"Stop thinking about it, you perv," she reprimanded, pushing him off of the bed. They both laughed, momentarily forgetting their predicament. "But seriously, what's the deal here? You've got to give me details, Eric."

Forman purses his lips and moved to sit next to her on the bed again, thinking about how to answer the question. "Well, I'm pretty sure I was in love with you. I know it sucks of me to say I'm pretty sure, but I am pretty messed up in the head right now. I will say that the way I want Hyde is a lot more intense, I guess, than how I wanted any other girl."

Donna nodded, and Eric was surprised that she didn't react worse. He was glad she was in a loving relationship with that blond guy. It probably made this less of a blow.

"Does anyone else know? Kelso? Jackie? Your parents?"

"Hell no!" he answered. "And you can't tell them!" he added in.

"Okay, I can't say I'm not shocked because fuck, Eric, we had our firsts together, and we were on and off for so long!"

"Yep, and if I want one thing out of this conversation, it's for you to know that I never meant to hurt you or… I don't even know what. I love you. You know that," he said, taking her hand in his.

"That's sweet, Eric," she said, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, and you can't tell your boyfriend this either."

"Damn," she said before they both drifted into a silence, Donna to think about the news she received and Eric to accommodate Donna as he sat there nervously, fiddling with the hem on his shirt.

A door could be heard being unlocked, and Eric realized that the time they had to talk about this expired now because it was close to impossible to be left alone once someone else was in the house.

"Just one more thing," Donna said, also having realized their time to talk was over. "Are you going to tell Hyde?"

Eric cocked his head, his eyes tracing patterns in the dots on the ceiling, sighing loudly. "Oh, I'm pretty sure he knows."

"Wait, what?" she asked, confused, shock evident in her tone.

"Well, if he didn't know I liked him after I kissed him at the reservoir, and he was somehow _drunk _when we were kissing alone in my room yesterday, I'm _pretty sure _he got the message after I told him at the park last night as he was giving me this," Eric said, pulling down his turtle neck to show the red blotchy patch he had received courtesy of Hyde. "But I could be wrong."

"Oh. My. God," she said carefully and slowly, staring at the hickey.

Eric shrugged. "Yep. Now, let's go downstairs before they come looking for us," Eric said desperately as he raised his collar back up and walked toward the door.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Here's the deal: I didn't want to post until I was done, but I'm not done yet so I figured I'll post the remaining chapters. I have, however, started working 'round chapter 18 again. I'm a freshman in uni, and it's hard. I've got so much to do as a premed including clubs and internships and whatnot. I'm lovin' it, but I've caught a second wind for the story. One chapter per week until it's done. That's a promise I'm going to keep.

Chapter 13

As the 27th rolled in, the gang plus two decided to make Hyde do something he was putting off doing out of laziness and lack of caring: checking up on his store. Inside, it was radically different from anything they had seen before, as only Kelso foresaw since he had been the only one to frequent it in the past years. After a thorough (in Hyde's opinion, anyway) inspection, they settled in the empty stockroom in the back.

"Donna, babe, you okay?" asked her boyfriend as everyone watched the woman tap her fingers rapidly on the floor where they were seated.

"Stop with all the questioning, alright?! I don't know anything!" she exclaimed, biting on her fingernails.

"Donna, you're acting like Eric," Jackie said with disgust.

Kelso looked at her carefully before saying, "You know something."

"No, I don't," said Donna too quickly for anyone to believe her.

Out of all the times and all the days this could happen, Kelso had to gain a shred of common sense _now_? Now that all Eric wanted to do was change the subject? Yeah, God hated him. He was sure of it.

"Michael, stop getting involved with other people's business," reprimanded the woman who sat sitting in his lap.

"Yeah, Michael!" added Jackie just for good measure.

"Well, damn! This isn't fair."

"Life with women often isn't, my friend," said Hyde, causing Donna to sputter and spit out the drink in her mouth.

"Ew!" Jackie yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Eric laughed nervously, digging his elbow into Donna's side meaningfully. Hyde looked questioningly at both Eric and Donna until Eric coughed and glanced at Donna. Hyde didn't get the message, and Eric couldn't blame him.

"Sorry. Went down the wrong pipe. You know me, always… breathing and drinking at the same time," Donna said, joining with Eric in nervous laughter.

"Ah, yes, damn that one pipe splitting into two thing. But, hey, uh, Donna, you think I could have a word with you outside?" Eric asked, standing up from the floor and giving her a hand.

"Yeah, sure, Eric. That sounds keen," she answered, taking his proffered hand and rushing outside with him.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Eric asked, his voice squeaking as if he was pre-pubescent.

"I'm sorry, Eric, but geez, you know I _suck_ at keeping secrets. It's really hard to act chill with both of you in the same room!"

"Well, okay, I understand. It would really help if you could just _not do_ what you're doing now!" he yelped.

"I'll try," she said. "Oh, and by the way, now that you're gay, are you even more girly 'cause I could use a hug!"

"Shut up!" he exclaimed, punching her in her upper arm.

"But I want to talk about my feelings!" she mocked again.

"Whatever, whatever. Let's go back inside before they come out to find us."

"I haven't cried myself all better yet!" Donna said, laughing as Eric dragged her back inside.

"You girls okay?" Hyde asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're fine," Donna responded, sitting back down.

Eric was definitely glad to see that after their latest talk, Donna seemed to calm down. Her rough exterior was back up and distracting everyone from any previous questions they may have had. Good.

As they talked, Eric felt himself drifting off, seeing his best friend laughing as they had their senior year. It was interesting to see the glow of familiarity in his eyes, loosening up enough to smile in a way he hadn't done with a large group of people in a long time. In Colorado, they had friends, people they went bowling with mostly, but it wasn't anything like this. It was amazing to see that Hyde actually cared about these people as much as he had years ago. His fondness for them didn't diminish, proving that he really did love them, even if he would never admit it. It was sweet in a weird, un-Hyde-like sort of way, and it brought a smile to Eric's lips as he tried to coyly glance at him when he thought no one was looking.

It wasn't particularly difficult as Hyde was sitting across from him, and he could pretend he was simply too lazy to move his head away. It was only natural to face straight ahead, after all. Or so he thought anyway until Fez leaned into him.

"You love Hyde, no?" Fez asked quietly while everyone else was laughing.

Eric's natural instinct was to jump up and scream denial. Of course, he had done enough jumping and knocking things over this trip, enough to last him a lifetime in fact. The alternative was to continue laughing with his friends and ignore what Fez had said for now in hopes that no one else caught it. No one seemed to.

Eric wanted to beat himself up. Either his friends had all become very astute or he was being very obvious. He thought a little bit of both since Jackie had yet to say anything, and if he was being overly obvious, she'd be the first to point it out. Kelso just had a knack for noticing things at the most inopportune times. It really was a gift in and of itself. Probably why he had turned into an unexpectedly good cop.

"There's no use denying it, is there?" Eric asked after a few minutes of petty chitchat.

"No," answered Fez immediately, "there is not. Luckily for you, Hyde has been looking at you also."

"Really?" Eric curiously asked.

"Yes, but nowhere near as much as you," Fez replied, causing Eric's stomach to drop and his face to flush in embarrassment.

He looked at Fez for a second before shaking his head and sitting in silence for the rest of the conversation, only adding in when someone directly asked him something.

After a few hours, Donna's boyfriend went outside and came back in, his face very purple, reporting that it was starting to snow heavily.

"Well, gang, I guess this is it for today. We'll see you all at the Formans' in a few days," Donna said, standing up when James offered her a hand.

"Alright, I agree. Let's go home, --" Jackie was cut off by a motorcycle engine out front as she said Fez's real name.

"Okay! We will see you all later," Fez said, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Jackie's shoulders as they walked outside with everyone else.

Eric was at the Vista Cruiser when he noticed that Hyde had not followed him. So, he walked back toward the record store and paused as he noticed the man's hands running over the last of the records in the store, most of the inventory now being on cassettes. He gingerly took out an AC/DC record and dusted it off lightly.

Forman almost felt like he was invading Hyde's privacy as he watched the scene, smiling to himself nevertheless. Cradling the record, he gently moved others out of the way to put it back in. He seemed to think better of it however and snatched it back up, taking out the actual record to inspect it. After only a second, he put it under his arm and said something to the manager before heading for the door.

Eric quickly turned around, pretending that he hadn't witnessed the scene. However, he couldn't fool his friend.

"It's not nice to spy on people," Hyde said as he walked out, bypassing the normal punch he would've given Eric to his arm.

"I wasn't spying. I was merely observing," Eric said, getting in the driver's side of his old car.

"You say tomato, I say _liar_. You were spying on me," Hyde said as he put the album in his lap.

"Okay, fine, but it's not often I get to see you handle anything so gently."

"I'm a man. I don't handle things 'gently,'" protested Hyde gruffly.

Eric didn't respond but merely smiled.

"I don't," Hyde repeated.

"I heard you the first time," Eric said, the smile not leaving his face.

After only a few seconds on their way back to the Forman house, Hyde asked, "What was up with Donna?"

"What do you mean?" Eric weakly denied.

"What do I mean? Oh, _bullshit_. You know _exactly_ what I mean."

"Well, I told her about you and me," Eric said calmly.

Eric quietly waited for an explosion, taking extra care to take a longer, more deserted route in case Hyde were to hit him and he lost control. The last thing he needed was to run over a kid or something.

"What the hell, man? What did you tell her?" Hyde demanded.

At least he wasn't hitting.

"I told her I… like you," Eric said, gulping, his voice hitching. "And she told me I had to tell you. I told her you knew. She asked how, and I told her how."

There was silence in the car as Hyde seemed to mull this over. "Dammit, Forman. I can't even be pissed at you."

This caused Eric to smile though he tried to hide it best as he could.

"As long as Donna's the only one who knows for now," Hyde said, fiddling with the sunglasses clipped to his jacket.

"And Fez," Eric added, deciding he may as well come clean now since Hyde seemed to have such a good reaction.

Steven sighed loudly, tilting his head to look at Eric. "You never could keep your mouth shut."

"No. No, I couldn't," Eric agreed, lifting his right hand up from the back of the seat and sliding it to scratch Hyde's back lightly. "Better than Jackie, at least. That chick is pure evil."

"Barely, and naw, she isn't," Hyde said, his back arcing into Eric's hand.

"Whatever you say, man. At least Yoko didn't break up the band," Eric said, pulling his lips into a thin, wiry smile.

"The Yoko Ono jokes weren't funny in the '70s, and they're not funny now," Hyde said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not joking. It's, like, fact," Eric heatedly said as they finally arrived back home, just in time to avoid the even heavier snow.

Hyde didn't say or do anything as Eric pulled away his hand and took the keys out of the ignition. Eric noticed this as he reached for the door and in turn, turned in his seat to look at him.

Eric wondered what caused the sudden thoughtful expression on Hyde's face. Then, it hit Eric. Was it his comments about Jackie? Even though the two were a disaster and the relationship was doomed to failure from the start, it was evident that Hyde would always carry a soft spot for the girl who annoyed him so much.

"Hey, listen. You know I was just kidding about Jackie, right?" Eric asked, being somewhat truthful.

He tolerated her and was used to her presence. She wasn't _evil_.

"Yeah, I know. I can appreciate you lying to me and pretending you like her while around me. It makes me feel like less of a dill hole for liking her."

Did that mean he liked her or he _liked _her?

"And no, I don't _like_ her anymore," Hyde added when he saw the look on Eric's face.

Choosing not to comment on how Hyde knew him well enough to know what he was thinking, he instead leaned over and cupped his cheek, giving him a short kiss.

It was all they could afford so out in the open, but it was good enough for now.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Here it is like I promised... and the rating is kicked up.

Chapter 14

Eric and Steven were sitting in the basement, watching the old television when Eric remembered to ask Hyde something he hadn't felt comfortable asking before and still didn't feel comfortable asking now.

"So, why'd you go see Edna?"

Hyde cleared his throat and uncrossed his legs, scooting into a more upright position. Staring straight ahead, he said, "I just haven't in a few years. I didn't even know she was back in town until I ran into her at the grocery store. She invited me over, and I said okay."

"Okay, but…" Eric trailed off, shaking his head as to tell Hyde he changed his mind.

"Go ahead and say what you want to," Hyde urged, reaching over the coffee table to flip off the television, his eyes boring into Eric's.

"It's just… she abandoned you. She's not a good person, and you don't owe her any of your time. She never gave you any of hers," said Eric, carefully looking into Steven's eyes to see any signs of anger.

"I know I don't. It was more me tying up loose ends than trying to please her." Hyde cleared his throat again and leaned over the coffee table to flip on the television.

"I don't want to see you get hurt."

It was a simple statement, but Eric could see the frustration in Hyde's face as the man once again reached over to turn off the television.

"This thing we're doing doesn't entitle you to be on babysitting duty, and if it's going to be like that, it's stopping here," he said simply and articulately.

Eric gulped. "It's not because of that. It's the same thing that happened when you moved out of here for the first time. You care. It's who you are. You want a family, and you're willing to be used to get it. I didn't like seeing it then, and I don't like seeing it now," Eric clarified.

Hyde let down his guard, knowing what Forman said was true. He reached over to Eric and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer on the sofa. Eric relaxed into him and leaned his head against Hyde's shoulder, not at all feeling awkward at being in the position of the hold the women he was with usually were in. Hyde's strong arm wrapped itself around Eric, resting at his side.

Though the television wasn't on, Eric found himself staring at it, afraid to say anything that would mess up the moment. He hated that he was walking eggshells around Hyde, but it's the way it was at the moment and the way it would stay until they figured out completely what they were doing.

The fact remained that since they hadn't had sex (a thought that made Forman twitch), which meant that they weren't just a fling, and they couldn't call eat other boyfriends (a thought that also made Forman twitch), meant that… meant nothing, actually. And that was the problem. As time passed, if they stayed together, they would probably reveal it to the general public which would probably make them official.

Too confusing to think about at the moment, Eric thought.

"I want a family some day," pondered Eric out loud.

Hyde stiffened for a second before he relaxed again. "I don't want to talk about it now."

"Fair enough. You know what we could do, though?" asked Eric, turning in his position to kiss Hyde.

Hyde's laughter reverberated through the back of his throat and caused both of their lips to tingle. As they continued to kiss, Hyde carefully pushed Eric down into the couch, laying on top of him.

Eric felt Hyde's evidence of arousal after only a few seconds, and he decided to make a bold move and run his hand downward and unzip the pants, sliding his hand into the mouth and cupping Hyde through his boxers.

The touch earned Eric an appreciative moan. He coyly smirked into Hyde's lips, rubbing his hand against Hyde's dick at first, then grasping it and running his thumb along the head.

Hyde's breathing became labored, his lips no longer moving against Eric's. His head slowly collapsed against Eric's collarbone, trying to keep himself propped up on his elbows so his full weight didn't land on Eric.

Eric licked his lips, still tasting Hyde on them, as he moved his other hand to undo the button and pull down Hyde's pants and his boxers.

"Sit up for me," Eric commanded, trying to have his voice sound strong though he felt uncomfortable. All he knew was what he liked and what he would be experiencing were he on the receiving end. This position was not the most comfortable for this.

"Whatever you say," Hyde gruffly replied, shaking his pants off of his bare feet and sitting up.

Eric followed suite and grasped Hyde's cock again, running his hands up and down it roughly, using his thumb to spread the cum at the tip around the head.

Eric looked up from what he was doing and noticed Hyde's head leaning slightly to one side but still forward, his eyes watching the situation intently.

"Eric," moaned Hyde.

Hearing his name on the man's lips, Eric lowered his head and took the tip of Hyde into his mouth. Hyde moaned, and he moved his hand into Eric's hair, gripping tightly. Eric sucked, moving his head up and down, loving the control he had, loving the taste. He moved his hands to Hyde's chest and ran his hands over his stomach as he worked, prompting Hyde to take off his shirt, exposing his taut abs.

"Eric," Hyde moaned again, this time in warning.

Eric understood it to be the considerate warning, and he took his lips off of Hyde's cock, moving his hands back to it instead, pumping the slick member up and down until Hyde came.

Eric's own member was throbbing, but he didn't care at the moment. His eyes had locked with Hyde's during those last few moments, and the look of utter pleasure on the man's face more than compensated for the ache he felt now.

He took one long finger and slid the digit into his mouth, tasting a bit of cum that had landed there.

Hyde's body was completely covered in sweat, and he was still shaking a bit. He did something so completely uncharacteristic for him that it almost scared Eric. He scooped Eric up and placed him back into a laying position on the couch, undressing him slowly.

Then, with a gentle kiss at the corner of his mouth and his arms around Eric's torso, Hyde held Eric.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Kk... new chapter like promised. I'm trying to wrap this story up since I really don't have time for it anymore! :)

Chapter 15

About two hours had passed, and the sun was starting to go down when Eric felt himself being nudged awake. He groaned, not wanting to open his eyes. The feeling of complete warmth and comfort covered every limb of his body, and he didn't want to leave it. Going back to the real world was not always fun.

"Eric," said a low, hushed voice which sent shivers through Eric's body.

Finally, it was the loss of contact against his chest that made him open his eyes and realize he was completely naked just feet from where his parents were.

Shit. Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Eric immediately sat up, shivering when the blanket that was covering him fell down below his chest, exposing his body to the frigid, winter air that plagued the basement. Looking up, he saw the soft eyes of Steven Hyde stop zipping up his pants. He only faltered for a second before he reached down to take his long sleeve shirt and toss it at Eric.

"My shirt's warmer," said Hyde as he continued to get dressed.

Eric smiled and temporarily forgot about where they were and how cold it was because of the gesture that was just made.

"Thanks, man. That's real-"

"Shut up, and get dressed," urged Hyde, breaking Eric off in mid-sentence.

And Hyde was back to being Hyde.

But Eric didn't mind that. He put on his clothes, taking care to put on Hyde's shirt. Once dressed, he sneezed again, still not completely warm, and looked to the door that went outside. He noticed now why it was particularly cold. The door was completely snowed in.

"We should probably go upstairs," Forman said, using the t.v. as a mirror to comb his fingers through his tussled hair.

"Yeah before Red and Kitty come looking for us," agreed Steven as he turned around and headed for the stairs.

Eric hopped next to Steven on the stairs, and with lightning speed, he placed a firm kiss on his lips. Before Hyde could even react to it, Eric was already through the door at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, hi, boys," Kitty said with a smile as she set dinner on the table. "I was just about to come looking for you two. You've been awfully quiet."

Thank God Hyde had woken up when he did. Eric didn't even want to _think_ about the reaction of Kitty finding her son and his best friend naked in a rather compromising position. The yelling. Oh, God, the yelling.

"The dinner looks great, Mrs. Forman," Hyde said, helping the woman set the dishes.

"Aw," Kitty started to say, giggling, "thank you, Steven. I thought we could all use something nice and warm. It looks like we're snowed in!"

Eric looked at the kitchen door and noticed that, indeed, the blizzard was worse than it was a few hours earlier. This meant that trying to go anywhere by car in the next day or two would be completely futile. Not even _the force_ could help. That meant that the only people he could see were the Pinciottis. That was fine with Eric. It meant more alone time with Hyde when Red and Kitty went over there to play their weekly game of cards tomorrow.

"I guess you boys will just have to stay here for a few days," Kitty said with a pout on her face.

"Yeah, I guess so. That's a real shame," Eric replied, a smile on his face as he winked at Hyde behind his mother's back.

If Hyde had noticed, he gave no inclination that he had.

"I just hope it clears up for the party," Kitty said, looking outside again.

"Don't worry, Mom. Even if it's like this, you know that everyone would brave the weather to come," Eric said, sitting down at the dinner table.

"Those idiot friends of yours owe me thousands of dollars worth of food. Of course they'll come to steal some more," Red said, walking through the doors and sitting down at the table.

"C'mon now, Mr. Forman, I've been the most guilty there," Hyde said, putting the rest of the food on the table and pulling out a chair for Kitty.

"You paid me back in full," reminded Red.

"And even if you hadn't, you know you're a son in my heart," Kitty said, tearing up as she reached up to capture Hyde in a half hug with her arms.

"And that," acknowledged Red, too gruff to say it himself.

"Welcome to the house of the hard ass. It's like the House of Mouse except happy people get beaten," Eric quipped, jumping out of the way of his father's hand when Red tried to slap him upside the head.


End file.
